Cartridge-type matrix core-threading apparatus

ABSTRACT

A machine for threading wire through an array of magnetic cores on filler plates to form a memory matrix having a rectilinearly reciprocative carriage on which plural hollow needles threaded with wires to be passed through the cores on the filler plate are removably supported as a group within a changeable cartridge. The needles may be advanced by an arming mechanism to a protruding position projecting beyond the leading end of the cartridge, and the carriage together with the cartridge can then be activated through an advance stroke feeding the needles and wires through parallel rows of the cores, after which the wires are retained while the needles are retracted to leave the wires threaded through the cores, and the wires are then cut adjacent the proximal edge of the array. The cartridge can be removed from the carriage and another cartridge of different size needles adapted to feed wires through different size cores can be readily substituted on the carriage to facilitate use of the machine to form memory matrices with different size cores.

United States Patent [72] Inventor John A. Raickle Hopewell Junction, NY.

[21] Appl. No. 873,810

[ 22] Filed Nov. 4, 1969 [45] Patented Aug. 31, 1971 [7 3] Assignee Industrial Micronics Incorporated Leesburg, Va.

[54] CARTRIDGE-TYPE MATRIX CORE-THREADING APPARATUS 29 Claims, 13 Drawing Figs. [52] US. Cl 29/203 MM, 29/241 [51] Int. Cl H05k 13/04, 823p 19/04 [50] Field of Search 29/203 MM,241,433,604 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,958,126 11/1960 Shaw et a1 29/203 MM X 3,174,214 3/1965 Davis 29/241 X Primary Examiner-Thomas H. Eager AtmrneyMason, Fenwick & Lawrence ABSTRACT: A machine for threading wire through an array of magnetic cores on filler plates to form a memory matrix having a rectilinearly reciprocative carriage on which plural hollow needles threaded with wires to be passed through the cores on the filler plate are removably supported as a group within a changeable cartridge. The needles may be advanced by an arming mechanism to a protruding position projecting beyond the leading end of the cartridge, and the carriage together with the cartridge can then be activated through an advance stroke feeding the needles and wires through parallel rows of the cores, after which the wires are retained while the needles are retracted to leave the wires threaded through the cores, and the wires are then cut adjacent the proximal edge of the array. The cartridge can be removed from the carriage and another cartridge of different size needles adapted to feed wires through different size cores can be readily substituted on the carriage to facilitate use of the machine to form memory matrices with different size cores.

PATENTEU M1831 lsn SHEET 1 OF 8 PATENTED AUE31 1971 SHEET 2 BF 8 m mm PATENTED M831 I971 SHEET 3 UF 8 Jon-m A RAICKLE HY Wasmfl mm nlbg:

PATENTED M33119?! 3,691,879

sum 7 or a INVI'IN'I'UIL OHN A. QmcKLe PATENTEU M1831 IBTI SHEET 8 [IF 8 c m w m WE M WL w K e M A A N W m a I m CARTRllD'GE-TYPIE MATRIX CORETHREADING APPARATUS BACKGROUND AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to apparatus for concurrently threading wires along a plurality of parallel rectilinear paths through aligned holes of small matrix memory cores arranged in parallel rows of plural cores to produce memory matrices for use in electrical and electronic computers.

The memory matrices employed in electrical and electronic computer devices comprise a plurality of very small paramagnetic rings, usually referred to as cores," arranged in a common plane so that the openings in the cores are aligned along a set of parallel first axis rows and also along a set of parallel second axis rows perpendicular to the first axis rows, frequently referred to as the X and Y axes of the matrix. The cores are located at the intersections of their respective associated first and second axis rows arranged perpendicular to the common plane of the matrix, with the cores inclined at an angle of about 45 to the axes of their respective associated first and second axis rows. One or more wires are threaded through these cores in each of the X and Y axis directions to complete the assembly of the matrix, and frequently, in the socalled bootstrap" wired matrices, each of the wires in one direction must be threaded through some of the cores in one row and then through the remainder of the cores in the adjacent parallel row. An the miniaturization of electronic circuit components has progressed, the size of the elements making up such matrices has also been reduced, so that it is not uncommon to have matrix cores wherein the diameter of the hole in the core is approximately 0.020 inches, and each such hole may have four wires threaded therethrough, each having a diameter of about 0.003 inches. Ordinarily, each matrix comprises thousands of such cores.

It has been customary in the past to hand assemble these matrices by manually feeding the wires through the individual cores, using tweezers or guide needles of various constructions, For example, aligned rows of cores have been threaded by passing a hooked needle through the cores, attaching a wire to the hook end of the needle and then withdrawing the needle along a reverse path with the wire attached, or by attaching a wire to the trailing end ofa needle, passing the needle through the cores, and drawing the wire through after the needle. Obviously, such hand assembly of these matrices is an extremely slow, tedious, exacting and costly procedure under the best circumstances, and highly skilled workers are required to perform this work.

Considerable effort has been devoted to development of apparatus which will facilitate the threading of such matrix magnetic cores and reduce the degree of workers skill, time and cost involved in assembling the matrices. Typical of efforts to solve this persistent problem are the devices shown in US. Pat. No. 2,958,126, to Shaw et al., and No. 3,174,214, to Davis. In both of these patents, elongated hollow needles or needlelike tubes having the wires led through the bores of the needles are advanced with the wires from a proximal end of the core array to the distal end thereof, after which the lead end portions of the wires are secured at the distal end against movement and the needles are retracted relative to the wires to withdraw them from the cores. in the Davis device, a single needle feeds the wire through one row of cores along one axis, for example, the X-axis, of the matrix, and a plurality of needles thereafter concurrently feed wires through the plurality of cores which were threaded by the single X-axis wire to feed the Y-nxis wires through these cores. The lead end ofthe wire projecting beyond the lead end of each needle must be bent reurwnrdly over the adjacent exterior surface portion of the needle to permit it to be fed with the needle through the cores, and this bent lead end of the wire must be held in some manner while the tube is withdrawn from the cores to leave the wire inserted in the cores. Obviously, considerable manual manipulation of the wires must occur in the use of this device to bend the lead end of the wire back over the leading end portion of its associated needle before each advancement of the needle through the cores and to hold the hooked end of the wire when the needle is retracted.

In the device of the earlier patent to Shaw et al., the plurality of hollow needles or needlelike tubes are concurrently advanced through the cores while the lead ends of the wires are located entirely inside the bores of the needles, and after the needles have been advanced fully through the cores, the wires are then advanced through the needles to a position whereby their feed ends protrude from the lead ends of the needles, after which the protruding ends of the wires are gripped and the needles are retracted to their original positions.

In the Davis apparatus, the needles are supported at their ends remote from the cores by a reciprocated carrier spaced from the lead end of the needle a distance greater than the axial length of one of the matrix rows, leaving a long expanse of unsupported needle which can be readily distorted out of the very precise position and alignment in which it must be maintained to properly register with the very small diameter bores in the cores. In the Shaw et al. apparatus, the needles are axially driven by limited surface engagement between a vertically spaced pair of rubber rollers which slide the needles axially along a support surface, and which engage and drive the wire through the needles after the needles have been advanced across the array and their trailing edges have passed beyond the rollers. This arrangement does not provide adequate protection against bowing or distortion of the elongated needles or of the wire, particularly as the needles are able to undergo some rotation about their axes during movement along the support surface, and thus preservation of needle alignment with the cores cannot be insured with the required high degree of precision.

A particular problem in any of the prior art devices for feeding needles through matrix cores has been the relative inflexibility of such devices insofar as changing from one size needle to another, or one spacing between lines of cores to another, or one number of lines to another, to feed the wires through matrix cores of different diameters, or different line spacings or numbers of core lines. For example, of the machine is armed to string core arrays of one number of lines of cores and one core spacing, and it is desired to use the machine to form a matrix in which the line spacing and number of lines is different, it would be necessary to unload all of the needles from the needle advancing carriage, reset the spacing and number of needles on the carriage, perhaps load the carriage with needles of a different size appropriate for the cores of the next matrix to be formed, and reload the needles with wire of the proper size, all of which would be extremely tedious and timeconsuming operation. An object of the present invention is the provision of novel apparatus for rapidly and reliably assembling magnetic core matrices by inserting wires into the plurality of parallel rows of magnetic cores, wherein an array of parallel needles for feeding the wires through the cores are arranged in a cartridge structure along with supply spools for the wires and wires preloaded inthe needles, for ready replacement of the cartridge with like cartridges of different number, spacing and/or size needles to facilitate use of the machine in forming magnetic core matrices.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of novel apparatus for rapidly assembling magnetic core matrices by inserting wires into a plurality of parallel rows of magnetic cores, which are capable of threading in a wide variety of matrix wiring patterns in both X and Y axis directions, and wherein the wires are fed through the cores by means ofa plurality of parallel needles arranged as a group in a changeable cartridge, which also encloses wire supply spools and the wires for the needles, together with mechanisms facilitating feeding of the wires into the needles. mechanisms for advancing the needles to a projected position protruding from the leading end of the cartridge, and mechanism for rotating the needles about their respective axes as the needles along with the encasing cartridge are advanced to feed the needles through the cores.

Other objects, advantages and capabilities of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES FIG. 1 is a side elevation of matrix core-threading apparatus embodying the present invention, with parts broken away to reveal details thereof; I

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus;

FIGS. 3A and 3B collectively form a section view of the cartridge structure, taken along the section plane 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4A and 4B collectively form a vertical longitudinal section through the cartridge, taken along the line 4-4 of FIGS. 3A-3B;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, perspective view of one of the filler plates in which the cores are supported during threading thereof;

FIG. 6 is a vertical transverse section view of the wireclamping assembly taken along the line 66 of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 7 is a vertical transverse section view of the needlevibrating assembly taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 8 is an end view of the cartridge unit viewed from the leading end thereof with parts broken away;

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the needle-oscillating mechanism;

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the wire-clamping assembly; and

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary section view taken along the line l1ll ofFIG. 3A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures, the apparatus of the present invention, indicated in general by the reference character 15, is designed to facilitate the rapid production of a magnetic core matrix by advancing wires along X-axis rows and then along Y-axis rows through a plurality of annular magnetic cores, indicated at 16 in Fig. 5, when the cores have been supported in a common matrix plane on a suitable core-supporting base, such as the filler plate 17. The filler plate 17 is formed of rigid, nonconductive material such as an insulative or dielectric plastic, having a substantially rectangular perimeter and an upper surface 18 provided with a plurality of concave cavities or recesses 19, corresponding in number and location to the magnetic cores l6 tobe present in the final matrix assembly. The cavities 19 have the configuration of a shallow cylindrical segment to receive a lower portion of the magnetic cores l6 and support them in planes perpendicular to the plane of the surface 18. The upper surface 18 of the filler plate 17 may be otherwise flat, or may have a plurality of guide grooves of selected depth extending parallel to the X-axis of the matrix and a second group of parallel guide grooves extending parallel to the Y- axis of the matrix and having a somewhat greater depth than the X-axis guide grooves intercepting the cavities to assist in guiding the wires and needles. The cavities 19 are oriented so as to dispose the cores 16 at an angle of about 45 to the X and Y axes of the matrix, and the top surface of the plate, or the base surface of each guide groove if used, is spaced a sufficient distance above the lowermost levels of the cavities 19 to register wires being fed along such top surface or base surface with the hole or central opening in each of the cores. Each cavity has a vacuum port 20 extending from its lowermost point through the tiller plate 17 to the bottom side thereof, so that upon application of vacuum or suction pressure to the bottom side of the filler plates 17, as will be later described, the cores 16 will be held within their respective cavities 19.

The matrix core threading apparatus I5, which is generally illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2, 3A and 3B and 4A and 48, comprises a base plate 23 having a filler plate-supporting assembly, generally indicatedat 24, located near one end thereof. As illustrated in the drawings, the filler plate-supporting assembly 24 is located in the right hand region of the apparatus as viewed in FIG. 2 and is designed to support four filler plates 17 and provide for precise angular adjustment and vertical ad- 5 justment, as well as translation of the filler plates along the X and Y axes. The supporting assembly 24 also is arranged to optionally provide for micrometer controlled displacement of the pair of filler plates, for example, the plates 17a, 17a", to one side of the transverse center axis of the assembly 24 relative to the other pair of filler plated 17b, 1711, as disclosed more fully in my earlier application Ser. No. 783,966. This supporting assembly 24 comprises a rotatable stage unit 25 having a stage plate 25 journaled in the base plate 23 for rotation about a vertical center axis and having a series of peripheral notches coactive with a spring loaded locating pin to establish the angular position of the stage plate. Supported on the rotatable stage unit 25 is a first axis guide frame assembly 27 and a second axis guide frame assembly 28 supporting a vacuum box 29 for rectilinear reciprocative adjustment along axes at right angles to each other.

The vacuum box 29- has internal fluid ducts therein, indicated at 29a, terminating at one end in a vacuum inlet port for communicating to a conduit leading to a suction source (not shown) and opening at the other end through the top surface of the vacuum box 29. Removably mounted on the vacuum box 29 is any one of a plurality of interchangeable heads generally indicated at 30, properly positioned on the vacuum box by locating pins 31, for example, at the four corners thereof, extending through vertical openings in the head 30 and aligned sockets in the vacuum box 29. The reason for making the heads 30 interchangeable is to permit heads of various types to be mounted on the vacuum box 29 to support filler plates in different ways for different types of operations.

One form of head which may be used is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, and is designated by the reference character 32. This head has an upwardly opening cavity 320 opening through the upper surface thereof of substantially rectangular configuration and of an appropriate size to extend beneath four filler plates 17 spaced in the manner illustrated in FIG. 2 and having a port communicating the cavity 32a with the duct 29a of the vacuum box 29. A rabbet is formed along the perimeter of the cavity 32a to receive and support the edges of a removable panel 32b having four rectangular openings therein, which may also have rabbeted perimeters, to receive and support the filler plates 17 and communicate the vacuum ports 20 thereof with the cavity 32a to permit application of suction from the vacuum box 29 thereto. As will be observed from FIG. 2, with the head 32, the four filler plates 17 are arranged in a pattern which form two X-rows and two Y-rows.

Located in selected longitudinal alignment along the base plate 23 from the filler plate-supporting assembly 24 is the needle reciprocating assembly 34 designed to feed hollow needles and wires into the cores 16 disposed on the filler plate 17. The needle-reciprocating assembly 34 comprises short upright posts 35 rising from the base plate 23 and supporting a pair of elongated rectilinear guide rods 36 in a horizontal plane above the base plate 23, which extends through and form supporting tracks for slidable bearing members 37 depending from a carriage plate 38 which is centrally apertured to support a changeable cartridge 39 which supports and encloses as a replaceable assembly a plurality of needles appropriate for the particular core array to be threaded as well as the supply spools and wires for these needles.

The needles, indicated by the reference character 40, form elongated hollow tubes whose internal diameter corresponds closely to the outer diameter of the wire to be threaded through the cores 16. For example, the wire may have a diameter of 0.003 inches, and in the preferred embodiment the needles 40 may each be formed of stainless steel tubing 40a having a length of about two feet, and an inside diameter of about 0.004 inch, and an outside diameter of about 0.006 inch. In the preferred embodiment, this tube 400 is enclosed near its trailing end by a tubular stainless steel shank 40b of about 0.006 inch internal diameter, about 0.015 inch outer diameter, and an axial length of about l /ainches, for example, applied to the tubing 40a by being shrunk thereon.

The needles 40 for a particular core array, for example, a core array having 64 lines of core, and thus requiring 64 needles, are carried in the cartridge 39 along with the supply spools 41 for the wires 42 to be threaded through the needles 40, and various mechanisms for projecting the needles from an enclosed position within the cartridge to a partially protruding position, and for feeding the wires into the trailing ends of the needles, and for oscillating the needles about their axes during advancement through the cores of the array, all as described in detail hereinafter.

Specifically, the cartridge 39 is removable supported on the carriage plate 38, in the form of a centrally open rectangular frame having a large opening 43 therein, on which is mounted a cartridge base plate 44, secured to the main carriage plate 38 by conventional threaded fasteners, such as by bolts near the front corners thereof and rear wingnut fasteners. Supported on the rear or trailing edge portion of the cartridge base plate 44 is a wire supply spool-supporting bracket 45 of generally U-shaped configuration when viewed from the rear of the carriage, having a horizontal base portion 45a extending transversely across a portion of the trailing edge region of the base plate 44 and rearwardly inclined side members 45b extending upwardly therefrom. These side members 4512 support, in the preferred embodiment illustrated, four wire spool shafts 46, each of which support in side-by-side coaxial relation thereon a plurality of wire supply spools 41. Assuming, for example, that the particular cartridge 39 being described is designed for threading ofa core array having 64 lines of cores, the cartridge would house 64 needles 40 and each of the four shafts 46 would support 16 wire supply spools 41, thus providing a total of 64 wire supply spools, with one supply spool assigned to each respective needle. It will be noted from FIG. 4A that a transverse wiper bar 48 transversely spans the set of spools 41 on each respective shaft 46, ans has mounts 480 at the opposite ends thereof provided with conventional spring means for biasing the wiper bars 48 to wipe the wires on the respective supply spools.

The wires 42 are drawn off of the supply spools 41 beneath wire guides 49 in the form of pulleylike discs located side-byside in a pack defining 64 wire guides, for the described embodiment, and arranged on a common shaft between spacers 49a supported on bracket members 49b fixed to the cartridge base plate 44. The wires 42 are then led from beneath the wire guides 49 through a clamping assembly 50 to be later described into the trailing ends of needles 40.

The 64 needles 40, or such other number of needles as is appropriate for the particular core array to be strung, are supported in side-by-side, axial parallelism for movement between a fully retracted position within the cartridge 39 to a position wherein the leading ends of the needles protrude from the leading edge portion of the cartridge. The movement of the needles as a group between fully retracted, and partially protruding positions is accomplished by upper and lower belt assemblies 52 and 53 which are wholly housed, along with the supply spools, needles, and operating mechanisms, within the housing defined by the top cover member 54 and bottom cover member 55 of the cartridge. The upper belt assembly 52 includes front and rear belt pulleys or rollers 52a, 52b each journaled on respective horizontal shafts 56a extending transversely to and supported in hinge supports to be later described, located to one side of the belt zone, and an endless upper belt 520 trained about the rollers 52a, 5212. Similarly, the lower belt assembly 53 comprises a front drive pulley or roller 57a, and a rear belt pulley or roller 57b journaled on shafts 58a and 58b, respectively supported in suitable bearing brackets or posts 58c fixed in depending relation on the cartridge base plate 44 with the center axes of the shafts 58a, 58b in alignment in a horizontal plane. The lower belt 53a is trained about the pulleys or rollers 57a, 57b, and about an idler pulley or roller 59 supported on a shaft 59a in a depending idler pulley bracket 5% also mounted in depending relation onthe cartridge base plate 44. The belt 53a includes a flexible belt pad 531: along the working surface thereof extending from the rear portion of the needles at least part way about the front roller 57a and having parallel lines or narrow grooves cut in the upper surface thereof to accommodate the tubular portions 40a of the needles therein.

The needles 40 are supported for axial reciprocative movement in side-by-side relation as illustrated with their axes in parallelism with the longitudinal axis of the carriage plate 38 and spaced laterally from each other distances appropriate for the spacing between the lines of cores of the array to be strung. This achieved by slidable supporting the needles 40 adjacent the leading end of the reciprocating assembly 34 in a needle guide block assembly 60 formed, for example, of a lower guide plate 60a having upwardly facing channel-shaped recesses for the needles in the upper surface portion thereof, and a cover plate 60b therefor having a corresponding profile in plan view to the lower guide plate secured to the latter against the upper surface to retain the needles in the guide channels defined in the guide plate portion 60a.

The needles 40 are also supported near the rear or trailing ends of the needles by a rear needle-mounting assembly generally indicated at 61. This assembly 61 comprises a nest carriage 62 having a substantially U'shaped profile in side elevation and including front upright legs 62a and rear upright leg 6212 each having slide bushings thereon supporting the carriage 62 on two elongated slide shafts 63 extending in parallelism longitudinally of and below the carriage base plate 44 and supported at their opposite ends in depending posts 63a secured against the undersurface of the cartridge base plate 44. The upper end portions of the front upright legs 62a have confronting rabbets or recesses formed in the inner corners thereof, and support vertically elongated shoulder posts 64 each having an enlarged head 640: at the top and a threaded lower end inserted in tapped openings in the legs 62a. These shoulder posts 64 each have a cylindrical shank portion whose lower end extends into a cylindrical well in the upper surface of the rabbets formed in the legs 62a, and form spindles or posts adjacent each side of the carriage for the remainder of the mounting assembly. The shank portions of the shoulder posts rise through elongated slots in a bottom vibrator plate 65 located immediately below the bottom surface of the cartridge base plate 44, and through similar elongated slots in a top vibrator plate 66. The vibrator plates 65, 66, are mounted one above the other in crosswise spanning relation to the base plate 44 and the array of needles thereon, with the major axis of the slots in these vibrator plates also being arranged transversely of the base plate 44.

The bottom vibrator plate 65 has vertically projecting spacers 65a thereon extending through accommodating slots 44a in the cartridge base plate 44, and supporting a metallic pad plate 67 in the center opening 68a of a transversely elongated nest member 68. The nest member 68 is fixed at opposite ends to the legs 62a and defines an upwardly opening channel 68b forming a slideway for the top vibrator plate 66. The nest member 68 also has a recessed lower portion 680 for admitting passage of the lower belt 530 therethrough. The pad plate 67 has its upper surface covered with an upwardly facing rubber pad adapted to bear against the confronting lower surface portions of the stainless steel shanks of the needles, while the front and rear flange portions of the nest member 68 bounding the channel 681: therein have a series ofvertical slots 68a and 680 opening through their upper edges, for example, having a width of about 0.010 inch and spaced about 0.030 on centers, for the 64 line array herein being described, to receive and locate the needle tube portions 40a immediately forwardly of and rearwardly of the ends of the shank portions 40!), to restrain the needles against axial movement relative to the nest carriage 62, but to permit rotary movement of the needles about their axes responsive to engagement of the rubber surface of the pad member 67 and the confronting lower surface of the top vibrator plate 66 against the shank portion 40b of the needles.

Overlying and engaging the top surface of the top vibrator plate 66 are thrust bearings 69a having bearing spheres which are in rolling contact with the upper face of the top vibrator plate 66 and surround the shanks of the shoulder posts 64. The thrust bearings 69a are resiliently biased downwardly by springs 69b retained on the shank portions of the shoulder posts 64 between the heads thereof and holddown washers or discs 69c engaging the tops of the spheres of the thrust bearings 69a. Similar thrust bearings 69a are also interposed between the lower face of the bottom vibrator plate 65 and another washer or disc 69c and a spring 69b extending into an enlarged cylindrical bore portion at the top of the tapped opening for each shoulder post 64. The top vibrator plate 66 is guided in a rectilinear reciprocative path by the lateral surfaces of the channel 68b in the nest member 68, and the edges of the elongated slots through which the shoulder posts 64 pass, and the bottom vibrating plate 65 is similarly guided by the edges of the slots accommodating the shoulder posts 64, the plates being driven in their oscillatory paths by cams or cranklike formations 70a on the shaft of electric motor 70 carried by the supporting bracket 70b fixed to and extending as a lateral shelf from the lower surface of the nest carriage 62.

To achieve advancement of the array of needles 40 relative to the cartridge 39 from their storage or completely enclosed position to their projected or active position, the upper portion of the rear needle-mounting assembly, and specifically the nest member 68, is fixed to the lower belt 53a, as by terminating the two ends of the belt 53a during formation thereof in the downwardly opening recess 68c of the nest member with theend portions of the belt riveted to the nest member so that upon rotation of the drive pulley or roller 57a for the lower belt 53a, the upper reach of the belt 53 a and, accordingly'the entirenest carriage 62 and components carried thereby will be advanced or retracted along rectilinear paths defined by the slide shafts 63. Since the needles are restrained against relative axial movement with respect to the nest carriage 62 by the disposition of the needle shanks 40b between the lateral walls of the channel 68b, the needles 40 are thereby also axially advanced or retracted responsive to rotation of the belt drive roller 57a. The base plate 44 had an elongated slot 44b for the crank 70a, and slots 440 for the legs 62a and shoulder posts 64, which together with the slots 44a for spacers 65a, accommodate movement of their respective elements through the range of adjustment of the assembly 61 by the drive pulley 57a.

it will also be noted that the entire span of the needles from the portions within the needle guide block assembly 60 to the shank portions nested in the nest member 68 are resiliently supported against deformation from their normal rectilinear 1 ..-wconfiguration by the confronting surfaces of the scored or l grooved flexible belt pad 53b carried on the upper reach of the lower belt 53a, and the lower reach of the upper belt 52c. Resilient downward pressure on the needles is maintained by a backing plate 71 fixed adjacent its front and rear end portions to bearing posts 72 supporting the shafts 56a for the top belt pulleys 52a, 52b, as illustrated in FIG 8. These bearing posts are in turn hinged to hinge brackets 72a fixed to the cartridge base plate 44 By this construction, when the top cover 54 of the cartridge is removed, the assembly of the top belt 52c, the top belt pulleys 52a, 52b, and the backing plate 71, can be swung upwardly about the horizontal hinge axis paralleling the longitudinal axis of the cartridge to expose the needles and the mechanisms near the trailing ends of the needles.

When the upper belt assembly including the top belt, its front and rear pulleys, and the holddown plate 71 are in the normal or lowered position illustrated in FIGS, 4A, 4B, the needles are then advanced when desired from the storage or retracted position to the projected or active position by 58a which projects through the side of the lower cartridge cover member 55. The locking bracket 74 has a threaded hole extending along a vertical axis intercepting the bore for the shaft 73a and has a locking knob 74a having a threaded shank threaded in the opening of the lock bracket to selectively engage the shaft 73a and lock the same in desired angular posi tions.

To facilitate feeding of the leading ends of the very fine wires 42 into the trailing ends of the needles 40 when the needles are arranged in the cartridge 39, there is associated with the nest carriage 62 on the slide shafts 63 a wire-clamping assembly 50. This wire-clamping assembly comprises a clamp carriage 76 having a front U-shaped yoke portion defining vertical legs 77, and a rearwardly projecting bottom plate 78. The plate 78 has a spacer 78a thereon supporting a rack 78b in a position to engage a drive gear-79 on a gear shaft 79a journaled in a bearing in the rear upright leg 62b of the nest carriage 62 and projecting outwardly through the slot 55a in the side of the lower cartridge cover member 55 to a drive crank 79b exposed for manual manipulation to one side of the cartridge 39; As with the case of the shaft 73a for crank 73, the shaft 79a also has a conventional coupling 80 for decoupling the crank 79b and adjacent shaft portion to permit removal of the cartridge 39 from the carriage plate 38 or the shaft 790 may be sufficiently short to dispose the crank 79b inwardly of the edge ofopening 43.

As more clearly illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 10, there are provided in vertically stacked relation over the upper ends of the legs 77 of the front yoke portion of carriage 76 a bottom clamping plate 81 and a top clamping plate 82 adapted to selectively clamp and release the wires 42 between the wire .guides 49 and the nest member 68 supporting the larger diameter shank portions of the needles. The top clamping plate 82 is fixedly mounted to the vertical legs 77 at a position spaced upwardly therefrom a distance slightly greater than the thickness of the bottom clamping plate 81, by means of threaded nut and pin assemblies 82a extending through accommodating apertures in the top and bottom clamping plate and into threaded sockets or similar securing formations in the upper end portions of the legs 77. Annular spacers 8111 surround the threaded pin portions and are disposed in circular openings in the bottom clamping plate large enough to accommodate sliding movement of the bottom clamping plate 81 in the direction of the vertical axes of the threaded fasteners 820, the spacers having a slightly greater axial length than the thickness of the bottom clamping plate to maintain the top clamping plate at the appropriate spacing above the top of the legs 77. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the top clamping plate 82 has a channel-shaped recess 82b in its upper surface, and the bottom clamping plate 81 has a similar channel-shaped recesses 81b in its lower portion, to respectively accommodate the upper belt 520 and the lower belt 53a. The confronting faces of the bottom clamping plate 81 and top clamping plate 82 are flat and are adapted to be selectively brought into clamping engagement with the wires 42 extending therebetween at a position spaced somewhat toward the wire guides 49 from the trailing ends of the needles 40. Movement of the bottom clamping plate 81 between clamping and release positions is achieved by a pair of depending cam blocks 83 having downwardly facing cam follower surfaces engaged on a pair of cams 84 on cam shaft 84a journaled in suitable bearings in the legs 77 of the front yoke portion of clamp carriage 76 and extending beyond one side of the clamp carriage 76 through a slot 85 in the side of the bottom cartridge cover member 55 adjacent the drive crank 79b. An actuating arm or lever 86 is fixed on the exterior end of the shaft 84a for manipulating the cams 84 between a release position wherein the bottom clamping plate 81 is spaced below top clamping plate 82 and out of holding engagement with the wires and a clamping position wherein the bottom clamping plate 81 is raised into a position tightly holding the wires against the top clamping plate 82. An advance manifold 87 is fixed to the legs 77 immediately in front of the superimposed clamping plates and has manifold bores 88'therein each sized to just accommodate the diameter of the rear end portion of the tubular portions 40a of the needles and receive the needles therein.

In the operation of the apparatus, the filler plates 117 with the cores l6 seated in their cavities 19, are positioned in the appropriate stations therefor on the head 32 of the filler plate supporting assembly 24, vacuum is applied to their lower surfaces through the vacuum box 29 to hold them securely in place on the head, and the first or upper row of filler plates 17a, Il7b', as viewed in FIG. 2, are properly aligned with the needle paths by adjustment of the knobs of the guide frame assemblies 27, 28. The cartridge 39, which will have been located and mounted on the carriage plate 38, is already preloaded with the needles 40 and wires 42 of appropriate number and spacing for the number of lines of cores of the filler plates to be threaded. With the top cover member 54 removed from the cartridge plate 38 and cartridge base plate 44, by removal of the conventional fasteners, such as screws or wingnuts, the necessary wire supply spools 41 can be assembled on the spool shafts 46 which, for example, are releasably held in the bracket side members 4512 by conventional setscrews which, when withdrawn from clamping relation with the shafts 46, release the shafts 46 for axial movement to withdraw their ends from bracket side members. With the upper belt assembly 52 and backup plate 711 swung upwardly about their hinge axis defined by the hinge posts 72a, access can be gained to the needle zone and to the nest member 68 and wire-clamping assembly 50. To load the needles in the cartridge, the shoulder posts 64 are withdrawn from the legs 62a of the nest carriage, to permit withdrawal of the top vibrator plate 66, or the shoulder posts are backed off sufficiently to permit the top vibrator plate 64 to be spaced a sufficient distance above the plane of the top edge of the nest" member 68 to permit the needles to be inserted between the nest member 68 and top vibrator plate 66 and positioned so that the leading end portions of the needles are inserted in the grooves therefor in the guide plate 68a. The tube portions a of the needles immediately in front of and behind the larger diameter shank portions 40b are inserted in the appropriate slots 68d, 68e in the nest member 68 so that the ends of the shanks 40b of the needles are constrained between the vertical flanges or sides of the channel 68b to cause advancing and retracting axial movement of the needles responsive to rotation of the drive pulley 57a and the lower belt 53a to which the nest member 68 is attached.

The leading ends of the wires 42 drawn from the spools 411 can then be fed into the trailing ends of the needles 4'!) by the wire-clamping assembly 50 in the following manner. With the top clamping plate 82 temporarily removed, or with the top and bottom clamping plates 81, 82 in open position permitting free passage of the wire leading ends therebetween, the leading ends of the wires 42 are inserted through the bores 88 in the advance manifold 87 and into the bores of the needles 40, after which needles are adjusted relative to the advance manifold so that the bores 88 receive the trailing ends of the needles 40 in nested relation therein. Once the wires 42 are fed a short distance into the bores of the needles 48, they can be fed through the remaining length of the needles by closing the clamping plates 81, 82 upon each other by manipulating the clamp-actuating arm or lever 86 and thus the cams 84 to lower the bottom clamping plate 81 to a wire releasing position and activate the drive crank 79b to retract the clamp carriage 76 rearwardly relative to the wires through the stroke permitted for the clamp carriage, after which the operating arm or lever 86 is adjusted to cause the cams 84 to raise the bottom clamping 81 into wire clamping position and the crank 79b is manipulated in the opposite direction to drive the clamping carriage 76 forwardly and thereby advance a length of the wires 42 into the needle bores corresponding to the stroke permitted for the clamp carriage 76. This stroke is no greater than the axial length of the advance manifold 87, so that the trailing ends of the needles remain in the manifold bores 88 throughout the stroke of the clamping carriage 76.

llilll In the normal condition of the cartridge 39; the drive pulley 57a is adjusted to such a position that the leading end portions of the needles and of the wires are all located wholly within the guide block assembly 60 without protruding therefrom, and the openings in the front of the guide block assembly are normally covered with a removable tape to maintain the zone through which the needles and wires pass in as dustfree a condition as possible.

When the preloaded cartridge 39 is assembled on the carriage plate 38, the tape covering for the front or exit ends of the openings in the guide block assembly 60 is removed, and with the carriage plate 38 in the retracted position, the drive pulley 57a is rotated by manipulation of the drive crank 73, while the manipulating arm 86 for the wire-clamping mechanism is in the clamping position, to advance the needles 48 and the wires therein to a fully projected position from the leading end of the cartridge 39 such that the leading ends of the needles will be positioned slightly to the right of or beyond the right-hand edge of the right-hand filler plate 17b, as viewed in FIG. 11, when the carriage plate 38 is at the forward or advanced limit position. Also, the arm 86 and crank 7% are preferably manipulated so that the leading ends of the wires 42 project a selected short distance beyond the leading ends of the needles 48.

With the filler plates I7a, ll7b' precisely aligned with the needles 40 so that the needles will pass through the openings in the cores forming the respective X-axis rows, the motor 70 is energized to commence oscillation of the vibrator plates 65, 66, so that the needles 38 will be rotated in an oscillatory manner back and forth about their axes as the carriage plate 38 is moved through its advance or threaded stroke. This is accomplished, as in the prior matrix core threading devices disclosed in my previously identified earlier application, by manipulating a manual operating knob 90 fixed to a shaft 91 journaled in and extending through an upright bearing post 92 on the baseplate 23 and having a drive pinion 93 also fixed on the shaft which meshes with an elongated rack 94 fixed to an depending from the bottom surface of the carriage plate 38. Thus, by rotation of the operating knob 98, the carriage plate 38 and therefore the cartridge assembly carried thereby is reciprocated through the advance and return strokes along a precise rectilinear path governed by the guide rods 36.

By imparting oscillatory rotation to the needles 48 back and forth about their respective axes, for example, through about 90 in each direction in a manner similar to that disclosed in my earlier application Ser. No. 830,8 l 8, because of reciprocation of the vibrator plates 65, 66 by the motor 78 operating at, for example, about 1,200 rpm, while the carriage plate 38 is being advanced toward the filler plate supporting assembly, the leading ends of the needles are caused to be reliably fed into the small holes in the cores of the respective rows aligned with the needles to a considerably greater degree than would be the case if no such rotation of the needles occurred. When the carriage 38 reaches its advance limit position projecting the needles fully through the cores of the X-axis rows of the tiller plates aligned with the needle path, the protruding leading end portions of the wires 42, which at this position overlie the right-hand border region of the head 32, as viewed in FIG. l, are then secured in any suitable manner, as by applying a strip of pressure sensitive tape over the protruding wire portion and against the adjacent surface of the head, and the carriage 38 is then withdrawn to the retracted limit position by reverse manipulation of the knob 98 after first actuating the arm 86 to release the wires from clamped relation by the clamping plates 8ll,82.

When the carriage 38 assumes the retracted limit position, the leading ends of the needles are spaced slightly toward the carriage plate 38 from the proximal edges of the filler plates, so that the wires can then be cut by any suitable means, at a position leaving proximal end portions of the wires overlying the surface of the head adjacent the carriage plate to permit them to be secured to the head by pressure sensitive tape or other securing means. If desired, a knife structure similar to that disclosed in my said earlier applications may be incorporated to facilitate this cutting operation.

After threading of the X-axis rows of the filler plates 17a and 17b, the adjusting knob for the guide frame assembly 28 may be rotated to translate the head and the Y-axis direction to locate the next X-axis row of filler plates 17a", 17b", in alignment with the needle path, and the previously described procedure is then repeated to thread the cores in this row of filler plates.

Following threading of the cores in the X-axis direction and taping of the ends of the wires'to the head, the rotatable stage unit is then rotated through 90 or other desired angles, vertical adjustment of the head may be effected if desired, and the carriage advancing and retracting procedure previously described is repeated to thread the cores in the Y-axis direction.

It will be apparent that instead of merely taping over the exit openings from the guide block assembly 60 to avoid entry of dust and airborne contamination into the needle zone, any desired shutter mechanism may be incorporated in the needle guide block assembly 60 which is normally gravity biased or spring biased to closing relation with the openings in the guide block assembly, but which is moved out of position either manually or by advancement of the leading ends of the needles through the guide block openings when the operator is ready to commence the core threading procedures.

By having the zone occupied by the needles and wires led to the needles completely enclosed by the cartridge 39, these delicate parts are thoroughly protected against accidental operator damage, such as by dropping pencils or other objects on these parts which would otherwise be exposed. The very small core dimensions which are being dealt with in these devices require needles of such small size that they are exceedingly delicate and much loss of operation time is encountered through accidental damage to unprotected needles in devices of this character which do not provide the protection afforded by the cartridge enclosure.

Furthermore. by having the whole set of needles loaded with wires in a complete cartridge, a number of spare cartridge designed for the particular core array being threaded may be maintained, so that if a breakdown in the threading device occurs, through a bent or damages needle, a wire jam, or other fault, this can be corrected immediately by merely removing the cartridge then being used from the carriage plate 38 and substituting another already loaded and wired cartridge.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for threading wires through annular cores in a core array to form a memory matrix, comprising core support means for supporting a plurality of the cores in an array at a selected horizontal plane with the cores disposed in a first set of parallel rows and a second set of parallel rows intersecting the first rows, each core being common to two intersecting rows, an elongated horizontal carriage spaced laterally from said array having leading and trailing end portions respectively adjacent and remote from said array and supported for rectilinear reciprocative movement through advance and return strokes relative to the array along a stroke axis paralleling one of said set of rows, a plurality of elongated hollow axially rectilinear needles for threading wires through the cores, a cartridge housing forming an enclosure for said needles removably supported on said carriage, needle guide means located in fixed relation to said carriage within said housing adjacent said leading end portion slidably supporting said needles for parallel axial reciprocation and for rotary movement about their axes in respective axial alignment with the rows of one of said sets, said cartridge housing having openings accommodating axial movement of said needles from a position wholly enclosed within said housing to a position projecting leading end portions of the needles therefrom, wire storage means within the housing for supplying continuous wires through the respective needles to dispose leading wire portions adjacent the leading ends of the needles for threading movement with the needles through the cores of one of said sets of parallel rows, rear needle support means'within said housing actuatable from externally of the housing for moving the needles from storage positions wholly retracted within the housing to active positions wherein leading end portions of the needles project from the leading end of said housing a distance adequate to span the length of a set of rows of said array, and said rear needle support means including driven oscillating means for imparting oscillatory rotation to the needles rotating them back and forth about their axes during movement of the platform and carriage through said advance stroke.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said oscillating means is driven continuously throughout the advance stroke of said platform and concurrently rotates said needles back and forth throughout the advance stroke.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said oscillating means includes a pair of rectilinearly reciprocative oscillating plates transversely spanning the plurality of needles and located wholly within said housing, the plates having confronting surfaces between which the needles extend in driven sur-' face engagement with said confronting surfaces, and motor means within the housing for continuously driving said plates in opposite directions along rectilinear reciprocative paths for concurrently rotatably oscillating the needles about their axes throughout movement of said platform through said advance stroke.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said needles have external enlarged cylindrical portions concentric with the needle axes engaging said oscillating plates, and said rear needle support means includes restraining members having confronting shoulders bearing against opposite ends of said cylindrical portions to restrain said needles against axial movement relative to the platform while accommodating rotary movement of the needles about their axes;

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein said restraining members comprise vertical flange formations extending in parallelism to the reciprocative paths of said plates having laterally spaced slots opening through upper edges of the flange formations sized to accommodate therein the portions of the needles outwardly flanking the opposite ends of said cylindrical portions and having a dimension smaller than the diameter of said cylindrical portions.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said cartridge housing includes a wire-clamping assembly therein located between said wire storage means and the trailing ends of said needles having confronting clamping surfaces for concurrently engaging the wires leading to the trailing ends of said needles, manually operable means for moving said clamping surfaces between clamping position relative to the wires and release positions relative to the wires, and manually operable means for reciprocating said wire-clamping assembly in directions parallel to the axes of said needles relative to said rear needle support means for progressively advancing lengths of wire axially through the needles from the trailing ends to the leading ends of the needles.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein said wireclamping means includes a pair of vertically spaced clamping plates, cam means operable from externally of the cartridge housing for adjusting the lowermost of said wire-clamping plates between said clamping and release positions. means slidably interconnecting said wire-clamping means and said rear needle support means for relative reciprocating movement parallel to the axes of said needles including guide surfaces on said rear needle support means guiding said clamping means for rectilinear reciprocative movement relative thereto and cam and rack means for importing such reciprocative movement to the clamping means.

8. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 including upper and lower planar belt portions defining confronting closely adjacent belt surfaces spanning the distance between said rear needle support means and said needle guide means in continuous supporting engagement with said needles throughout said distance for accommodating said oscillatory rotation of the needles while resiliently supporting them against lateral deformation.

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 including upper and lower planar belt portions defining confronting closely adjacent belt surfaces spanning the distance between said rear needle support means and said needle guide means in continuous supporting engagement with said needles throughout said distance for accommodating said oscillatory rotation of the needles while resiliently supporting them against lateral deformation.

10. Apparatus as defined in claim Al including upper and lower planar belt portions defining confronting closely adjacent belt surfaces spanning the distance between said rear needle support means and said needle guide means in continuous supporting engagement with said needles throughout said distance for accommodating said oscillatory rotation of the needles while resiliently supporting them against lateral deformation.

11. Apparatus as defined in claim 6 including upper and lower planar belt portions defining confronting closely adjacent belt surfaces spanning the distance between said rear needle support means and said needle guide means in continuous supporting engagement with said needles throughout said distance for accommodating said oscillatory rotation of the needles while resiliently supporting them against lateral deformation.

12. Apparatus as defined in claim 7 including upper and lower planar belt portions defining confronting closely adjacent belt surfaces spanning the distance between said rear needle support means and said needle guide means in continuous supporting engagement with said needles throughout said distance for accommodating said oscillatory rotation of the needles while resiliently supporting them against lateral deformation.

13. Apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said upper and lower belt portions are formed respectively by upper and lower endless belts trained about rollers adjacent leading trailing ends of the needle locations within the housing, the lower belt being under tension.

14. Apparatus as defined in claim 9 wherein said upper and lower belt portions are formed respectively by upper and lower endless belts trained about rollers adjacent leading trailing ends of the needle locations within the housing, the lower belt being under tension.

15. Apparatus as defined in claim 10 wherein said upper and lower belt portions are formed respectively by upper and lower endless belts trained about rollers adjacent leading trailing ends of the needle locations within the housing, the lower belt being under tension.

16. Apparatus as defined in claim lll wherein said upper and lower belt portions are formed respectively by upper and lower endless belts trained about rollers adjacent leading trailing ends of the needle locations within the housing, the lower belt being under tension.

17. Apparatus as defined in claim 12 wherein said upper and lower belt portions are formed respectively by upper and lower endless belts trained about rollers adjacent leading trailing ends of the needle locations within the housing, the lower belt being under tension.

18. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein said lower belt is connected to said rear needle support means for moving the latter to shift said needles between said storage and active positions responsive to manual rotation of one of the rollers therefor.

19. Apparatus as defined in claim 13, wherein said lower 21. Apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein said lower belt is connected to said rear needle support means for moving the latter to shift said needles between said storage and active positions responsive to manual rotation of one of the rollers therefor.

22. Apparatus as defined in claim 16, wherein said lower belt is connected to said rear needle support means for moving the latter to shift said needles between said storage and active positions responsive to manual rotation of one of the rollers therefor.

23. Apparatus as defined in claim 13, including a rigid backing plate bearing downwardly adjacent said upper belt portion to press the latter against the needles throughout the span between said rear needle support means and the leading belt is connected to said rear needle support means for moving the latter to shift said needles between said storage and active positions responsive to manual rotation of one of the rollers therefor. I

20. Apparatus as defined in claim Ml, wherein said lower belt is connected to said rear needle support means for moving the latter to shift said needles between said storage and active positions responsive to manual rotation of one of the rollers therefor.

end roller for said upper belt portion, the rollers for said upper belt portion and said backing plate being collectively supported in said housing by hinge means for hinging movement between raised and lowered positions about a horizontal axis paralleling and spaced laterally from the needle axis.

24. Apparatus as defined in claim: 14, including a rigid backing plate bearing downwardly adjacent said upper belt portion to press the latter against the needles throughout the span between said rear needle support means and the leading end roller for said upper belt portions, the rollers for said upper belt portion and said backing plate being collectively supported in said housing by hinge means for hinging movement between raised and lowered positions about a horizontal axis paralleling and spaced laterally from the needle axis.

25. Apparatus as defined in claim 15, including a rigid backing plate bearing downwardly adjacent said upper belt portion to press the latter against the needles throughout the span between said rear needle support means and the leading end roller for said upper belt portions, the rollers for said upper belt portion and said backing plate being collectively supported in said housing by hinge means for hinging movement between raised and lowered positions about a horizontal axis paralleling and spaced laterally from the needle axis.

26. Apparatus as defined in claim 16, including a rigid backing plate bearing downwardly adjacent said upper belt portion to press the latter against the needles throughout the span between said rear needle support means and the leading end roller for said upper belt portions, the rollers for said upper belt portion and said backing plate being collectively supported in said housing by hinge means for hinging movement between raised and lowered positions about a horizontal axis paralleling and spaced laterally from the needle axis.

27. Apparatus as defined in claim 19, including a rigid backing plate bearing downwardly adjacent said upper belt portion to press the latter against the needles throughout the span between said rear needle support means and the leading end roller for said upper belt portions, the rollers for said upper belt portion and said backing plate being collectively supported in said housing by hinge means for hinging movement between raised and lowered positions about a horizontal axis paralleling and spaced laterally from the needle axis.

28. Apparatus as defined in claim 20, including a rigid backing plate bearing downwardly adjacent said upper belt portion to press the latter against the needles throughout the span between said rear needle support means and the leading end roller for said upper belt portions, the rollers for said upper belt portion and said backing plate being collectively supported in said housing by hinge means for hinging movement between raised and lowered positions about a horizontal axis paralleling and spaced laterally from: the needle axis.

29. Apparatus as defined in claim 22, including a rigid backing plate bearing downwardly adjacent said upper belt portion to press the latter against the needles throughout the span between said rear needle support means and the leading end roller for said upper belt portions, the rollers for said upper belt portion and said backing plate being collectively supported in said housing by hinge means for hinging movement between raised and lowered positions about a horizontal axis paralleling and spaced laterally from the needle axis. 

1. Apparatus for threading wires through annular cores in a core array to form a memory matrix, comprising core support means for supporting a plurality of the cores in an array at a selected horizontal plane with the cores disposed in a first set of parallel rows and a second set of parallel rows intersecting the first rows, each core being common to two intersecting rows, an elongated horizontal carriage spaced laterally from said array having leading and trailing end portions respectively adjacent and remote from said array and supported for rectilinear reciprocative movement through advance and return strokes relative to the array along a stroke axis paralleling one of said set of rows, a plurality of elongated hollow axially rectilinear needles for threading wires through the cores, a cartridge housing forming an enclosure for said needles removably supported on said carriage, needle guide means located in fixed relation to said carriage within said housing adjacent said leading end portion slidably supporting said needles for parallel axial reciprocation and for rotary movement about their axes in respective axial alignment with the rows of one of said sets, said cartridge housing having openings accommodating axial movement of said needles from a position wholly enclosed within said housing to a position projecting leading end portions of the needles therefrom, wire storage means within the housing for supplying continuous wires through the respective needles to dispose leading wire portions adjacent the leading ends of the needles for threading movement with the needles through the cores of one of said sets of parallel rows, rear needle support means within said housing actuatable from externally of the housing for moving the needles from storage positions wholly retracted within the housing to active positions wherein leading end portions of the needles project from the leading end of said housing a distance adequate to span the length of a set of rows of said array, and said rear needle support means including driven oscillating means for imparting oscillatory rotation to the needles rotating them back and forth about their axes during movement of the platform and carriage through said advance stroke.
 2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said oscillating means is driven continuously throughout the advance stroke of said platform and concurrently rotates said needles back and forth throughout the advance stroke.
 3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said oscillating means includes a pair of rectilinearly reciprocative oscillating plates transversely spanning the plurality of needles and located wholly within said housing, the plates having confronting surfaces between which the needles extend in driven surface engagement with said confronting surfaces, and motor means within the housing for continuously driving said plates in opposite directions along rectilinear reciprocative paths for concurrently rotatably oscillating the needles about their axes throughout movement of said platform through said advance stroke.
 4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said needles have external enlarged cylindrical portions concentric with the needle axes engaging said oscillating plates, and said rear needle support means includes restraining members having confronting shoulders bearing against opposite ends of said cylindrical portions to restrain said needles against axial movement relative to the platform while accommodating rotary movement of the needles about their axes.
 5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein said restraining members comprise vertical flange formations extending In parallelism to the reciprocative paths of said plates having laterally spaced slots opening through upper edges of the flange formations sized to accommodate therein the portions of the needles outwardly flanking the opposite ends of said cylindrical portions and having a dimension smaller than the diameter of said cylindrical portions.
 6. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said cartridge housing includes a wire-clamping assembly therein located between said wire storage means and the trailing ends of said needles having confronting clamping surfaces for concurrently engaging the wires leading to the trailing ends of said needles, manually operable means for moving said clamping surfaces between clamping position relative to the wires and release positions relative to the wires, and manually operable means for reciprocating said wire-clamping assembly in directions parallel to the axes of said needles relative to said rear needle support means for progressively advancing lengths of wire axially through the needles from the trailing ends to the leading ends of the needles.
 7. Apparatus as defined in claim 6, wherein said wire-clamping means includes a pair of vertically spaced clamping plates, cam means operable from externally of the cartridge housing for adjusting the lowermost of said wire-clamping plates between said clamping and release positions, means slidably interconnecting said wire-clamping means and said rear needle support means for relative reciprocating movement parallel to the axes of said needles including guide surfaces on said rear needle support means guiding said clamping means for rectilinear reciprocative movement relative thereto and cam and rack means for importing such reciprocative movement to the clamping means.
 8. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 including upper and lower planar belt portions defining confronting closely adjacent belt surfaces spanning the distance between said rear needle support means and said needle guide means in continuous supporting engagement with said needles throughout said distance for accommodating said oscillatory rotation of the needles while resiliently supporting them against lateral deformation.
 9. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 including upper and lower planar belt portions defining confronting closely adjacent belt surfaces spanning the distance between said rear needle support means and said needle guide means in continuous supporting engagement with said needles throughout said distance for accommodating said oscillatory rotation of the needles while resiliently supporting them against lateral deformation.
 10. Apparatus as defined in claim 4 including upper and lower planar belt portions defining confronting closely adjacent belt surfaces spanning the distance between said rear needle support means and said needle guide means in continuous supporting engagement with said needles throughout said distance for accommodating said oscillatory rotation of the needles while resiliently supporting them against lateral deformation.
 11. Apparatus as defined in claim 6 including upper and lower planar belt portions defining confronting closely adjacent belt surfaces spanning the distance between said rear needle support means and said needle guide means in continuous supporting engagement with said needles throughout said distance for accommodating said oscillatory rotation of the needles while resiliently supporting them against lateral deformation.
 12. Apparatus as defined in claim 7 including upper and lower planar belt portions defining confronting closely adjacent belt surfaces spanning the distance between said rear needle support means and said needle guide means in continuous supporting engagement with said needles throughout said distance for accommodating said oscillatory rotation of the needles while resiliently supporting them against lateral deformation.
 13. Apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said upper and lower belt portions are formed respectively by upper and lower endless bElts trained about rollers adjacent leading trailing ends of the needle locations within the housing, the lower belt being under tension.
 14. Apparatus as defined in claim 9 wherein said upper and lower belt portions are formed respectively by upper and lower endless belts trained about rollers adjacent leading trailing ends of the needle locations within the housing, the lower belt being under tension.
 15. Apparatus as defined in claim 10 wherein said upper and lower belt portions are formed respectively by upper and lower endless belts trained about rollers adjacent leading trailing ends of the needle locations within the housing, the lower belt being under tension.
 16. Apparatus as defined in claim 11 wherein said upper and lower belt portions are formed respectively by upper and lower endless belts trained about rollers adjacent leading trailing ends of the needle locations within the housing, the lower belt being under tension.
 17. Apparatus as defined in claim 12 wherein said upper and lower belt portions are formed respectively by upper and lower endless belts trained about rollers adjacent leading trailing ends of the needle locations within the housing, the lower belt being under tension.
 18. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein said lower belt is connected to said rear needle support means for moving the latter to shift said needles between said storage and active positions responsive to manual rotation of one of the rollers therefor.
 19. Apparatus as defined in claim 13, wherein said lower belt is connected to said rear needle support means for moving the latter to shift said needles between said storage and active positions responsive to manual rotation of one of the rollers therefor.
 20. Apparatus as defined in claim 14, wherein said lower belt is connected to said rear needle support means for moving the latter to shift said needles between said storage and active positions responsive to manual rotation of one of the rollers therefor.
 21. Apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein said lower belt is connected to said rear needle support means for moving the latter to shift said needles between said storage and active positions responsive to manual rotation of one of the rollers therefor.
 22. Apparatus as defined in claim 16, wherein said lower belt is connected to said rear needle support means for moving the latter to shift said needles between said storage and active positions responsive to manual rotation of one of the rollers therefor.
 23. Apparatus as defined in claim 13, including a rigid backing plate bearing downwardly adjacent said upper belt portion to press the latter against the needles throughout the span between said rear needle support means and the leading end roller for said upper belt portion, the rollers for said upper belt portion and said backing plate being collectively supported in said housing by hinge means for hinging movement between raised and lowered positions about a horizontal axis paralleling and spaced laterally from the needle axis.
 24. Apparatus as defined in claim 14, including a rigid backing plate bearing downwardly adjacent said upper belt portion to press the latter against the needles throughout the span between said rear needle support means and the leading end roller for said upper belt portions, the rollers for said upper belt portion and said backing plate being collectively supported in said housing by hinge means for hinging movement between raised and lowered positions about a horizontal axis paralleling and spaced laterally from the needle axis.
 25. Apparatus as defined in claim 15, including a rigid backing plate bearing downwardly adjacent said upper belt portion to press the latter against the needles throughout the span between said rear needle support means and the leading end roller for said upper belt portions, the rollers for said upper belt portion and said backing plate being collectively supported in said housing by hinge means for hinging movement between raised And lowered positions about a horizontal axis paralleling and spaced laterally from the needle axis.
 26. Apparatus as defined in claim 16, including a rigid backing plate bearing downwardly adjacent said upper belt portion to press the latter against the needles throughout the span between said rear needle support means and the leading end roller for said upper belt portions, the rollers for said upper belt portion and said backing plate being collectively supported in said housing by hinge means for hinging movement between raised and lowered positions about a horizontal axis paralleling and spaced laterally from the needle axis.
 27. Apparatus as defined in claim 19, including a rigid backing plate bearing downwardly adjacent said upper belt portion to press the latter against the needles throughout the span between said rear needle support means and the leading end roller for said upper belt portions, the rollers for said upper belt portion and said backing plate being collectively supported in said housing by hinge means for hinging movement between raised and lowered positions about a horizontal axis paralleling and spaced laterally from the needle axis.
 28. Apparatus as defined in claim 20, including a rigid backing plate bearing downwardly adjacent said upper belt portion to press the latter against the needles throughout the span between said rear needle support means and the leading end roller for said upper belt portions, the rollers for said upper belt portion and said backing plate being collectively supported in said housing by hinge means for hinging movement between raised and lowered positions about a horizontal axis paralleling and spaced laterally from the needle axis.
 29. Apparatus as defined in claim 22, including a rigid backing plate bearing downwardly adjacent said upper belt portion to press the latter against the needles throughout the span between said rear needle support means and the leading end roller for said upper belt portions, the rollers for said upper belt portion and said backing plate being collectively supported in said housing by hinge means for hinging movement between raised and lowered positions about a horizontal axis paralleling and spaced laterally from the needle axis. 